


Fraternization

by ylc



Series: Of building tensions and their many consequences [3]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Gen, Implied Relationships, Other, Secret Relationship, Suspicions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 18:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21123236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ylc/pseuds/ylc
Summary: There’s something off with Gabriel. Michael isn’t sure what it is, but she’s determined to find out.The risk of looking for answers, is that you might get them.





	Fraternization

**Author's Note:**

> And here’s a new installment of this little tale :P It just keeps on growing and growing and show no sign of stopping :P  
I hope you’ll enjoy it ;)

By nature, angels aren’t curious creatures.

Well. That’s technically not true. When angels were first created, they were just as curious as your average human, but in the aftermath of the Great Battle, they learned that curiosity leads to _ questions _ and unanswered questions lead to _ disobedience _ and disobedience leads to _ Falling. _

So you see, it’s not a nature thing at all.

That being said, the Archangel Michael has always been a tiny bit curious, maybe because she doesn’t lack imagination as most of her fellow Archangels do. She’s not one to take things at face value, preferring to make her own research before arriving to any conclusions.

Sometimes she thinks that, had she been a little more through with her research, the whole mess with the Apocalypse-that-wasn’t wouldn’t have come to pass. She caught up with Aziraphale’s game too late, but she would like to think she learned from her mistake and she’s determined not to let it happen again.

Which is why she’s been keeping a close eye on Gabriel lately. 

Of all her fellow Archangels, Gabriel is probably her favorite sibling, if Archangels played favorite that is. He’s a bit of an over enthusiastic puppy: eager to please but not terribly bright. Oh, he likes to think of himself as their leader and Michael is happy to let him think she respects his authority and she thinks the rest of the Archangels actually do, but if push came to shove--

Well.

She suspects that moment is closer than anyone would think. She has no proof, of course, that something is actually _ wrong _ with Gabriel, but she has a _ feeling. _Ignoring her instincts have never really worked out well for her and so this time she’s following her gut, even if there’s no evidence that something is indeed amiss.

She stares at Gabriel, who’s cheerfully conducting their weekly meeting, all pleasant smiles. This is not unusual, of course; even after the failed Trial of the traitor, he never quite lost his agreeable demeanor, but lately his smiles look a little more honest, happiness radiating in waves from him. It shouldn’t be suspicious, but Gabriel has never before been this content, not even when they believed the Apocalypse was actually on track and to see him like this now, practically _ glowing _\--

Something is most definitely off. 

And she’s going to find out what.

* * *

After the botched Apocalypse, with no one entirely sure what to do now, Heaven had been a right mess. Eventually however, they figured the best course of action was to continue as if nothing had happened and go back to work, everyone settling back on their respective duties.

Unfortunately, this also meant that a certain _ traitor _was back to his usual work.

Now, it’s not that Heaven trusted Aziraphale, not even remotely, but they were reluctant to send another angel to be stationed in Earth, worrying they would end following their predecessor’s footsteps. Heaven couldn’t risk another rogue angel and so they settled for what they already had.

As Michael understands it, something very similar happened with the demon Crowley, although since she lost her official informant and Under Duke Dagon has been a little reluctant to actually communicate with her, she’s not entirely sure.

Ironically (or maybe not so ironically), the despised traitor is the one who gives her the first actual hint on what’s happening to Gabriel.

It starts on a fairly average day, when she’s idly sitting outside Gabriel’s office, waiting to go in to review some files with him. He can hear the Archangel talking to someone, his booming voice resonating outside the walls of the room, but she pays him no real mind, busy as she is going through the list of unaccounted miracles she needs Gabriel to review.

The door opens sometime later and an angel slips out, closing the door after him. Michael looks up from her documents and comes face to face with Aziraphale, who is so caught up on his own thoughts that he fails to notice Michael’s presence. She scowls, unhappy and clears her throat, making the Principality look at her.

“Oh, hello,” he greets politely, a nervous smile on his lips. “Didn’t see you there, Michael.”

She scowls some more. “I noticed,” she replies briskly, but the angel hardly notices her, seemingly still concerned with something else. “Is there something amiss?” she asks, because it’s only polite to do so. Besides, if something is indeed amiss, she figures it’s also her duty to see it fixed: Aziraphale might be a lost sheep, but maybe he can be brought back into the flock with enough work.

(Not that Michael is inclined to do that particular work, but still)

“Oh! no, no, it’s nothing,” Aziraphale says, but he doesn’t look very convinced. Michael waits as patiently as she can, figuring he’ll come around on his own. “It’s just-- Well. Have you-- it’s just-- Gabriel was acting a little odd.”

“Odd how?” Michael asks, keeping her voice from betraying her emotions. She’s not the only who has noticed, it seems, although she’s not entirely sure how she feels about the traitor being the one to spot Gabriel’s odd behavior.

“Well, it’s just--” Aziraphale bites his lip, hesitant and Michael huffs. That won’t do, not at all.

“Speak,” she demands harshly and the Principality flinches a bit, throwing a quick look in the direction of the closed door.

“I-- There was a mistake on my report. Not a big mistake, mind, just something that slipped of my mind and when Gabriel noticed-- well. You know how he is about reports.” Michael nods: yes, Gabriel can be a bit… ah… _ strict _ when it comes to reports. “But he just said-- he said I should be more careful next time.”

Michael blinks, processing the information. That’s-- odd, indeed.

“He seems more… relaxed,” Aziraphale continues, mostly voicing his thoughts aloud, not really addressing Michael anymore. “_ Happier. _Satisfied.” Michael hmms and the angel continues, brow furrowing. “If I didn’t know better--” he interrupts himself sharply, biting his lip harshly.

“What?” Michael questions, careful to keep her voice devoid of emotions, despite the swirl of them in her head. “If you didn’t know better…” she trails off, gesturing for Aziraphale to finish his thought.

“It’s silly,” the angel replies, a light blush covering his cheeks, but Michael just stares at him, waiting. “It’s just-- I mean, if he was human… well, Crowley would say he seems _ throughly shagged _.”

Michael blinks as the Principality blushes some more. So baffled by the revelation, she completely forgets to scowl at Aziraphale for daring to mention his demon friend. She doesn’t really have a frame of reference, but she imagines the demon would know about that.

“Or-- if you want to be a little less crude about it,” Aziraphale continues after a bit, expression thoughtful. “And also, taking into consideration how happy he seems-- I would say he’s in love.”

_ No _, Michael thinks, frowning. Gabriel wouldn’t do something as foolish as-- of course, between him conducting a carnal affair for the sake of it and him actually being in love with however he’s sleeping with-- 

Well. She’s not sure what option is preferable.

She looks at Aziraphale, who seems to be debating with himself the merit of both ideas. He’d know, Michael thinks; if someone knew how an angel in love looks, it’d be Aziraphale. But--

This might be worse than she first thought.

* * *

In the end, Michael decides to handle the situation as she handles every other situation: she’ll dive headfirst, consequences be damned.

She’s not a bureaucrat, nor a diplomat, nor really much of a leader, not at her core. She’s a warrior above all and there’s no space for subtlety in the battlefield, where it’s either crush or be crushed. If you see a problem, she’s always believed, you need to eradicate or risk it coming back to bit you in the ass.

So during their usual weekly meeting, she decides to broach the subject, figuring confronting Gabriel in front of their fellow Archangels might force a more honest confession out of him than if there were just the two of them.

_ Peer pressure _, she thinks with a not entirely angelic smile.

“--And so that brings our meeting to an end, unless there’s something else someone wishes to discuss?” Gabriel says, evidently not expecting anyone to say a word, but Michael stands up before he can dismiss the meeting and all eyes turn to her, everyone looking more than a little surprised. “Michael?”

“Yes, there’s a subject I believe we’ve been remiss to discuss, in the light of the events that took place not so long ago,” she begins, looking around the table, her eyes settling on every one of the other Archangels. They look confused, mostly, a few of them actually curious.

“And what subject would that be?” Gabriel asks, still smiling pleasantly, a bit annoyed but not suspicious.

“Fraternization,” Michael replies curly and there’s a murmur around the table, everyone’s thoughts going to a certain traitor no doubt. Gabriel doesn’t as much as blink, which is either a show of his innocence on the matter or a show of how sneaky he thinks himself to be.

“I think,” Gabriel says, after the table has quieted down once more. “That that was more an special case. We’re all angels here and so beings of love; to forbid relationships--”

“It might lead to rebellion, though,” Michael interrupts promptly and Gabriel frowns, confused. “Someone in love is prone to put the one they love above Heaven’s best interests, as the recent events have shown.”

Gabriel nods, conceding the point. Around the table, the rest of the Archangels are nodding along. “What do you suggest, then?” Uriel asks, eyes narrowed, trying to decipher what’s going on inside Michael’s mind. She’ll tell them later, she thinks: Uriel is, after all, her second favorite sibling.

“A ban--”

“No,” Gabriel interrupts sharply and Michael turns to him, one eyebrow arched. “That would lead to further disent. If angels can not turn to one another for comfort in these trying times, the morale will only drop further.”

“To allow relationships to continue to develop unsupervised--”

“Maybe we should examine them on a case-to-case basis,” Sandalphon suggests, eager to avoid conflict. “Not all angels handle personal conflict as well, nor are they as committed to Heaven’s cause.” This is, of course, an unofficial appreciation that can not leave this room: all angels are, by definition, loyal to Heaven, except they’re not, not always.

“That might breed dissentment, which is what we’re trying to avoid,” Uriel points out. “Those angels judged not trustworthy enough--”

“We must be careful on how we voice it,” Gabriel says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I think you’re right, Michael, but we need to be careful about the wording. I’ll think it over and get back to you.”

“And who,” Michael questions, before Gabriel can dismiss the meeting as he obviously intends to do. Whether or not he’s bothered by the subject, Michael can not tell for sure. “--will judge the angels’ trustworthiness?”

“Well, us, naturally,” Sandalphon says, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yes, I quite agree,” Michael says, since she really wasn’t asking a question, but preparing the field for her_ real _question. “Shall we begin with you, Gabriel?”

A tense silence fills the room, the rest of the Archangels turning to one another, looking for answers. The news of Gabriel’s affair is news to everyone, it seems, and that makes Michael doubt the idea for a beat: she knows Sandalphon and Gabriel are basically joined by the hip these days, if he does not know--

“I beg your pardon?” Gabriel asks after a brief pause, blinking owlishly, as if he truly does not know what she means. Either he’s an accomplished liar or he’s indeed not hiding anything at all. Angels aren’t liars; by definition they don’t really know how to lie, but Michael has seen far too much to trust that at face value.

Angels might not lie, but they sure as Hell stretch the truth.

“I have on good source that you seem to be… infatuated,” she replies, her nose scrunching just a little bit at the thought of her source. Aziraphale might not be trustworthy on matters that involve a particular Enemy, but she’s fairly certain she can trust his appreciation on that matter.

“And who might be, this source you speak of?” Sandalphon challenges, always eager to defend Gabriel. Michael doesn’t bother to look at him, her whole attention on Gabriel who continues to stare innocently at her, a slight pleased smile on his lips at Sandalphon’s quick defense.

“I always keep my sources to myself,” Michael replies airily, waving a hand dismissively. “But I’d judge him a good authority on the matter of infatuation.”

_ In love, _ Aziraphale had said. _ Thoroughly shagged _ in his demon’s words. Either idea is troubling and so Michael settled on _ infatuated. _

“I assure you, sister dear, I have no idea what you’re speaking of,” Gabriel says, before anyone can argue anything else. His expression remains perfectly placid, hands linked in front of him, not fidgeting at all. “I believe I do know who your source is though, and I’ll be sure not to go so easy on him next time he sends the wrong paperwork.”

Michael hmms, conceding defeat for the time being. The rest of the Archangels relax, a few quietly murmuring about how they never thought Gabriel would do something as foolish as pick a lover.

Michael isn’t sure what she believes.

The meeting does get dismissed this time around and the Archangels quickly filter out of the room, until it’s just Michael and Gabriel. They stare at one another for a beat, measuring each other up and finally Michael nods politely, heading for the door.

“Michael,” Gabriel calls, before she can leave. “If the day should ever come in which I find myself… _ infatuated _with someone, be rest assured I shall submit myself and my partner to the judgement of this council.”

_ Oh, Gabriel _ , Michael thinks as she exits the room. _ You nearly had me there. _

But alas, now she knows.

**Author's Note:**

> So, thoughts anyone?  
I’m a tiny bit worried about whether or not Aziraphale seemed in character but that little scene worked well, I thought, and so I ran away with it. I do apologize if it’s OC :P  
This was meant to be a fun little one shot and now it has something resembling an actual plot :P Oh well, I’m not complaining, not really :P  
Anyway, thanks for reading!


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